Sun Yat-sen

In the construction of a country, it is not the practical workers but the idealists and planners that are difficult to find.

Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙, November 12, 1866 – March 12, 1925) was a Chinese revolutionary leader and statesman who is considered by many to be the "Father of Modern China". He was known as several names including 孫中山 and 孫文. He had a significant influence in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and establishment of the original Republic of China.

It is only after mature deliberation and thorough preparation that I have decided upon the Program of Revolution and defined the procedure of the revolution in three stages. The first is the period of military government; the second, the period of political tutelage; and the third, the period of constitutional government.

The Three Phases of National Reconstruction (1918)

The Chinese people have only family and clan solidarity; they do not have national spirit...they are just a heap of loose sand...Other men are the carving knife and serving dish; we are the fish and the meat.

China as a Heap of Loose Sand (1924)

China is now suffering from poverty, not from unequal distribution of wealth. Where there are inequalities of wealth, the methods of Marx can, of course, be used; a class war can be advocated to destroy the inequalities. But in China, where industry is not yet developed, Marx's class war and dictatorship of the proletariat are impracticable.

Capital and the State (1924)

In the construction of a country, it is not the practical workers but the idealists and planners that are difficult to find.